Brightwells auction bucks the trend

Brightwells recorded an impressive 83% sale rate at its 18 May auction at a time when some others would appear to be struggling.

Top sale of the day went to 1966 Jaguar E-type S1 4.2 Roadster (£50,000). A lightweight lookalike, it had previously been owned by musician and TV presenter - Jools Holland, and was notable for its red and white paintwork.

Another E-type, this time a celebrity-owner-free 1962 S1 4.2 Roadster, sold for £43,450.

A rare right-hand-drive 1963 Lancia Flaminia GT – previously owned by musician and composer Geoffrey Burgon – sparked a phone-bidding frenzy. IT smashed through its estimate of £25,000 before resting on the princely sum of £40,700, setting a new UK auction record for the model according to Brightwells.

One of around 100 1949 aluminium-bodied Bentley MkVIs (above) with coachwork by HJ Mulliner sold for £35,200, while another Bentley, a youngtimer 1994 Continental R Coupe from the Stondon Motor Museum, sold for £22,000.

Three Aston Martins – a 1972 DBS auto, a non-running 1972 V8 manual and a 1994 Virage auto – sold for £20,900, £18,050 and £17,050 respectively.

A 1975 BMW 2.5 CS Coupé, one of only 844, had been driven from Germany by its owner (likely in search of a better price) and sold for £20,900.

Meanwhile, there were three contenders for steal of the day. A barely run-in 1977 Jaguar XJ12 S2 saloon with only 18,500 miles on the clock was snapped up for £5500, a 1972 Lotus Europa Twin Cam went for £14,080 and a 1994 Lotus Esprit S4 Turbo slipped under the radar at £11,500.

For buyers not worried by a lack of originality an extremely well executed 1972 MGB Roadster wrapped around a 3.5-litre Rover V8 generated an impressive £15,650.

Pre-war cars had their share of the sales, too, with a rare Wolseley 1939 25hp Drophead Coupe making £22,550 and a 1932 Wolseley Hornet four-seater fetching £23,550.

Brightwells’ classic car consultant James Dennison said: “The fact that we managed to sell such a good percentage compared to some of our rivals shows that we know the market and are doing our job properly for both sellers and buyers alike.

“With the Eurozone entering a period of great uncertainty it will be most interesting to see how the market develops over the coming months,” said Dennison.